Specialists vs Discrimination

Over a month ago I was accused of discriminating against males because we do not insure men at Her Life. I pondered on this thought for quite some time. I take the word discrimination very seriously. It suggests that one party is favoured above another, by distinction. This is interesting because that theory would also imply that a cancer specialist discriminates against non-cancer patients. A lung specialist discriminates against all other parts of the body and that male magazines discriminate against females. That homosexual magazine’s discriminate against heterosexual magazines and so on. It may also suggest that we love our mothers more than our fathers. Our daughters more than our sons and our female friends over our male friends.

The question is; where would we be without specialists? We would all be treated exactly the same. Men would go for pap smears and be assumed to have the potential to bear children. And women would receive testicular cancer check-ups. Without specialists, no profession would be allowed to focus on one particular group and everything would be generalised. Vets would not be allowed to practice on animals in fear of discriminating against people, and doctors would be expected to operate on animals. I know, I know, it’s starting to get a bit strange now. Isn’t it?

But I did take minor offense to this remark because I love my son, brother, father and friends and do not favour women over men, nor do I favour men over women. I have simply made a professional decision to focus on a group of people that I understand and believe I can help. I have no regrets about that. Would you accuse a youth psychologist of discriminating against adults? No. Then why insurance providers who specialise in women? We target this field because we are women and we do understand the biological mechanisms many women experience.

For example, I choose to see a female General Practitioner called Patty. She is my doctor and when I discuss female related issues such as post pregnancy symptoms, I will only see Patty. However, if I’m suffering a migraine, I’m more relaxed about who I see because both male’s and female’s get headaches. I’m not even sure if my doctor has had children but she has a uterus, breasts and a probably a menstrual cycle and that’s enough to convince me that she understands me better than a male doctor and it’s because in a way, she is me.

That’s why we have created a company for women to obtain insurance, strictly by women. It’s a comfort thing. Our clients can discuss any issues that concern them in a comfortable environment. We provide cover that we believe will suite them and their needs, rather than a general cover for anybody.

We have an underinsurance problem pertaining to women in Australia. Some don’t consider their role in life is worth insuring; they are poorly mistaken. We consider it our responsibility to ensure that women can seek special attention and at least educate themselves on the cover’s available. Many insurance providers that specialise in women are managed by men. We are not. Our professional focus as Her Life representatives is women’s insurance, and it always will be. We are proud of that.